Depression

God Loves You!

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments 
 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life John 3:16 ESV

Marie* wants to see you in the cafeteria after the message” they told me. Marie suffered from Parkinson’s Disease that often leads to depression, and that afternoon she was so depressed that she hadn’t come in for our song and prayer time at her nursing home. As I went in to sit with Marie, she began to cry and took hold of my hands blurting out, “God hates me!” 

She felt isolated from the outside world, because no old friends ever came to visit, no family came for her birthday or Christmas. “What in the world can I say?” I wondered. What good news do I have to share with her?” Then I remembered the verse we all learn in Sunday School, and I said, “God loves you, Marie! Because the Bible says, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” At those simplest of words, Marie calmed, her face brightened, and she happily listened as I took my guitar back out of its case to sing her favorite hymn, “In the Garden”, and afterward we prayed together.

Maybe you aren’t in a facility, and don’t have Parkinson’s, but at some time in our lives we all face moments like Marie did. No one understands our hearts, and it feels as if God has turned His back or simply forgotten about us. In those darkest of moments, we have to remind ourselves that just as God did not forget Marie, He has also not forgotten us. Though we may not be the richest person in the world, we have its richest hope, because we have received the lavish gift of God’s love. We also need to remember that there are Marie’s and Bettys, Bob’s and Joe’s all around us every day. There are people we bump into at the store, on the street corners or even in our family, who desperately need to hear about the hope of God’s love. Yes, “God so loved the world!” So, why not pass that great hope of Jesus on to others today?

Fighting Depression with Thankfulness

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments 
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: 
for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. Psalm 42:5 KJV

Some of my favorite memories and best life lessons come from the decades I spent working high in the treetops. This morning as I was struggling with the Winter blues and feeling overwhelmed with doubts, I remembered fighting with a heavy limb directly over my head that I was cutting while suspended sixty feet above the ground. My options were limited and the consequences of failure high, but then my foreman called up to me, “Just get mad at it Pete!” His advice got my attention just long enough so I could focus my energy on the solution and not the problem. A tree limb was not what David was struggling with in today’s verse, but his advice sounds a lot like something my old foreman would have approved of. With every reason to be afraid and a laundry list of problems facing him, David decided that the best place to begin was his own soul. He just gets mad at it! “Hope thou in God!” he cries. “Stop whining! Praising God is what your job is, so let’s get with it” (Okay maybe I stretched the Hebrew a little thin here, but you get the idea!) Sometimes we just have to read ourselves the riot act. Our soul is always looking for an easy way out of problems, but no matter our situation or how long the journey, we have to remind ourselves from time to time that God has not left the scene. He is still worthy of our praise, and able to help us. Our job is to be thankful, even if it means getting mad at the situation so we can focus again and put our trust completely in Him!

I enjoyed this recent devotional testimony from Join Eareckson Tada on how she fights off depression. Her battles are far more severe than most of us are facing and I love her idea of making a list of things to thank God for. We are all fighting the same enemy and there is nothing he hates more than hearing how great our God is. So, “Get mad at it!” if it helps. Join David in telling your soul to get with it! You just might be amazed how God will answer and come to help in ways we never dreamed!

Peace and Truth

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Has anxiety kept you awake all night? Has fear stolen hours of sleep as you tossed and turned in what feels like a hopeless struggle to find peace? Don’t give up or give in because there is always hope that comes packaged in the form of truth. Think back to the endless peace talks that have failed again and again to bring peace in the middle east. They have failed because a true and lasting peace, whether among nations, friends or between people and God must be built on the foundation of truth.  Any falsehood is a roadblock to peace. The Apostle John gives us this startling vision of how God works the peace process between Him and each other.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

Everything about God’s peace begins with being honest. We have to tell the truth to God; to others and to ourselves. Dishonesty in any area works like an infection in a wound. Operating from even little white lies it is like trying to  bandage things over without cleaning out the source of our infection. But there is always hope in Jesus Christ! No catastrophe, no bungling or sin is too great for God to overcome once we open our doors and invite Him into every area of darkness in our lives.

God is working to bring about our healing but our part is to  tell Him the truth. He already knows everything; but for us to have His peace, we must come clean and confess. Confession is a vital part and the first step of faith. Just as in a court of law, any confession obtained under duress is invalid because it is less than fully truthful. We must confess because we want to from the very bottom of our hearts. We need to tell God, others and ourselves; the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Only God can clean our hearts and only clean hearts can be filled and ruled by His peace. You may feel irreconcilably separated from God, other people or even from yourself, but healing and peace are just a few honest words away. No lie no matter how convincing has the power to calm even the slightest ripple on the ocean of life. But a truth, no matter how small can command the wind and waves and it invites God to rule over our hearts. When God rules on the inside then His peace is assured because He alone can make us lie down in peace and being with Him is the safest place of all!

 

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